[Significance of detection of specific IgE in Anisakis-related diseases]

Anisakis larvae which parasitize sea fishes sometimes cause not only anisakiasis but also such allergic reactions as mackerel-induced urticaria. We prepared AlaSTAT by using excretory/secretory antigens from Anisakis larvae to detect specific IgE in various patients groups. The AlaSTAT positive rate was 87.5% in gastric anisakiasis patients who were endoscopically diagnosed, while it was 66.7% in patients who had acute abdominal pain but no larva detected. Ascariasis in the common bile duct was 0%. The positive rate in mackerel-induced urticaria patients was 75.0%, while it was 8.3% and 10.0% in patients with urticaria of unknown origin and normal controls, respectively. Based on these data, the detection of specific IgE using AlaSTAT is useful in elucidating the cause of urticaria or acute abdominal pain, such as Anisakis.